Read Online By Any Means by Chris Culver - Free Book Online Page A

conference. Every station in town, save for Kristen Tanaka’s, had a reporter in attendance. She knew everything they planned to report anyway, so that didn’t surprise anyone. For the next twenty minutes, they candidly answered questions about the case and asked the public for help. Hopefully it would get them somewhere.

6
    I ndianapolis, 2002. Despite the manicured lawns, the landscaped flowerbeds, the expensive suburban homes, and the numerous people he saw, Kostya had never driven on a lonelier road in his life. He supposed he would have felt that way driving from any gravesite, though. His daughter Kara sat in the passenger’s seat of his Jaguar, staring out the window. She appeared thinner and paler than he remembered, but she still had her mother’s rounded cheeks and naturally straw-colored hair. Storm gray and cold, her eyes seemed to be the only physical characteristic he had passed on to her.
    â€œIt was a dignified service,” he said, pulling the car into traffic and away from the cemetery. “Your mother would have liked it.”
    â€œYou have no idea what my mother would have liked. You weren’t around enough to find out.”
    â€œI wasn’t around very much because she asked me to stay away. Believe it or not, I cared about Alicia enough to respect her wishes.”
    He glanced over, catching Kara’s gaze. She quickly withdrew and turned to face the window again.
    â€œWhat makes you think my wishes would be any different from hers?”
    â€œIt was just a hope.”
    Kara didn’t even look at him that time. He glanced in his rearview mirror. A navy blue Ford followed two car lengths back. He didn’t know what agency its occupants worked for, but it didn’t really matter. They followed him wherever he went and had since he relocated to the state four years prior. They hadn’t even bothered trying to hide during his ex-wife’s funeral.
    â€œI’m going to get a cup of coffee,” he said, braking suddenly. The vehicle behind him came to within two feet of hitting him. Kara either didn’t notice or pretended not to. “Would you like something?”
    â€œIt doesn’t look like I have much of a choice.”
    â€œYou always have a choice. I’ve worked too hard for you not to have that.”
    She ignored him, and he turned into a coffee shop with a covered concrete patio and a bright red awning over the front door. Several people sat on wrought-iron chairs outside; most looked happy. Kostya parked in the first open spot he came to and checked to see if his escort had followed him in. They continued driving, though, giving him a welcome moment of privacy with his daughter.
    â€œI can take you home if you’d like.”
    â€œWe’re here,” she said, opening her door. “We might as well get something.”
    Kostya followed her, noticing several men stare at his daughter. As soon as they saw him, most of those stares turned away quickly; those who kept eyeing his daughter turned after receiving an extended glance from him. Kara had her mother’s good looks and had likely become inured to the attention over the years, but Kostya didn’t like people looking at her, not like that at least.
    â€œI’ll get coffee if you sit down.”
    â€œBlack, no cream,” said Kara, slowly lowering herself into a plush armchair big enough to accommodate two of her. Kostya ordered and paid for two small black coffees before sitting across from his daughter on an identical plush chair. A young man read the paper on a love seat nearby, but Kostya ignored him and said nothing until a barista arrived with their coffee.
    â€œThank you,” he said, smiling slightly as the young woman walked away. The coffee tasted good, but he hadn’t stopped for a drink. After his first sip, he settled the cup on the table and looked at his daughter, trying to draw her glance. “How are you?”
    She turned